10 Facts About Marijuana | Drug Policy Alliance

November 2015 Monitor on Psychology

Eating marijuana ("edibles") is perhaps a more obvious means to reduce the respiratory effects when using the drug. Oral administration carries its own challenges, however, as it typically takes longer for the effects of the drug to appear (30–60 minutes compared to seconds), making it more difficult to monitor dose and increasing the risk of overdose. Additionally, the effects last longer than some users prefer (Grotenhermen, 2001). That said, overdosing on marijuana is rare and most likely to happen to naïve users. A marijuana overdose can trigger acute anxiety or panic, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, and additional problems.

Learn About Marijuana: Factsheets: Respiratory Effects …

Being a teenager and raising a teenager are individually, and collectively, enormous challenges. For many teens, illicit substance use and abuse become part of the landscape of their teenage years. Although most adolescents who use drugs do not progress to become drug abusers, or drug addicts in adulthood, drug use in adolescence is a very risky proposition. Even small degrees of substance abuse (for example, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants) can have negative consequences. Typically, school and relationships, notably family relationships, are among the life areas that are most influenced by drug use and abuse.

Vaporizers, which heat marijuana below combustion point, have been theorized to be a safer method of administration, producing lower levels of tar than cigarettes (Grotenhermen, 2001) and fewer respiratory symptoms reported by users (Earleywine & Smucker Barnwell, 2007). However, these devices have also been shown to release ammonia which, when inhaled, can cause irritation and central nervous system effects, as well as asthma and bronchial spasms (Bloor et al, 2008). More research on the potential use of vaporizers as a harm reduction technique is needed.

Everyone has heard that marijuana is a gateway drug and this idea has been a point of debate for many years. However, even if marijuana does not lead to the use of other drugs, there are still negative consequences that result from the use of marijuana on its own. These include short term and long term consequences that include anxiety, drop in IQ, cancer, and asthma. Marijuana is not as harmless as many people think it is, and because of this it is important to get help if you or someone you love is using or abusing marijuana. The following set of questions and answers can help you to learn more about marijuana and its consequences, and can assist you in finding help for yourself or a loved one.

Marijuana smoke contains a similar range of harmful chemicals to that of tobacco smoke (including bronchial irritants, tumor promoters and carcinogens) (Hoffmann et al, 1975). As inhaled smoke comes into contact with airway and lung before being absorbed into the bloodstream, it is likely to affect the respiratory system (Novotny et al, 1982).

Risk of respiratory effects from inhaling marijuana smoke are heightened by the more intensive way in which marijuana is smoked -- when smoking marijuana compared to tobacco, there is a prolonged and deeper inhalation and it is smoked to a shorter butt length and at a higher combustion temperature. This results in approximately 5 times the carbon monoxide concentration, 3 times the tar, and the retention of one-third more tar in the respiratory tract. Higher levels of ammonia and hydrogen cyanide have also been found in marijuana smoke, compared to tobacco (Moir, et al., 2008; Wu et al., 1988; Tashkin et al., 1991; Benson & Bentley, 1995).